Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1887-05-04
THE DEMOCRAT SET RIGHT.
A Few Facts of Interest About the
 Fourteenth Legislature.

will be read with more than ordinary in- terest by the public generally, and par ,icularly by those who have read from
 day to day in our contemporary the as-
 seriion that this paper 'lieo" when 1t
 said that no journala were kept by the
 recent legislature MT Trippel Is a
 democrat and as such, during the ses-
 sion, sho Ego, favors io this office, but
 he tells s.L.- lI ain, straightforward facts
 and asks some very pertinent questions
 in the subjoined communication
 GLOBE, Ariz, April P, 1881 Fps. SILVER BELT: Three articles !. appear upon the editorial page of the | Tombstone Democrat of the 10th inst,
 two of which, unsigned, are possibly pro
 auctions of it's proprietor, Hon. ]. NJ. | Brscewell, and the third communicated | by K" of Bisbee. One of these relates
 to the journals of the late legislature. It conveys the idea without making an act
 ual assertion to that effect, that journals
 were kept by the Fourteenth. A lit;le
 history, such as can be upheld by the
 testimony of every member, may not be
 inappropriate at this juncture.
 It IS, perhaps, unnecessary to explain ! that the minutes of a deLberative body
 are short entries of its proceedings, from
 which the journals are afterwards pre- | pared, and in which the entries are made ! at greater length and ,he forms more dis ! tinctly pointed out. While the minutes
 are corrected on the day following that
 of which they treat the journals are ex- l act copies of the minutes as corrected, without interlineatlons, ensures CT changes of any kind, properly attested each day by, the presiding osicer. and l chief clerk, thus practically abviatipg all chances of alteration by evl-ninded per. sons after the final adjournment of that body. In fact the minutes bear the same relation to the journals that sn amended bill dof sto same oil properly expressed and enrolled.
 The house possessed no journals. The ohiet clerk simply wrote up the minutes
 m the n,ne and order of their occurrence, generally in pencil and upon ordinary
 fools -ap paper. These showed numef- \ ou's lnteriineati DTS and ensures and were 1 s1 hastily transcribed and abbreviated , that 1t was often difficult to decipher the
 meaning of the hieroglyphics. During
 the beginning of the term, Allred Stein
 acted as assistant to the chief clerk-no.
 IS journal clerk. H. was pi by assess
 ments levied upon several members, some of whom the Democrat undertakes to cIlticlse Did Mr. Bracewell contrib
 ute his quota2 He certainly understood
 the importance of well-kept records. The | gentleman is better informed, as he was
 d member of special committee ap- | pointed tO examine the house minutes 1 shortly before the final adjournment, in company with D ran Of Pinai and the
 writer. The com niuee, after investiga- ting the records of the fiist five days of
 the session. finding |. impossible t) intel | ligenty report upon the correctness ot I the whole, owing to the ImpefsCt sYStem
 of keeping them, and to insufficient tune.
 repoIted that they had acted upon the
 first few days only, and believed them thus far in accordance with the proceed ings. virtually diSclaim,ng responsibility
 as Q the correctness Of the balance, and finally asking 10 be discharged. The committee found the mioEtes, in dated | rolls. pigeon-holed Tn a closet ID which
 they were carelessly thrown Will Mir. | Bfacewell deny these facts, and inform l his readers that the legislative branch ct which he was member kepG journals , Nor was the council better of in thus | respect It IS true the chief clerk of that body, M- Ddsooll. kept prlvate journal for his own protection in the l event ot dispute arising hereafter. hing ing upon the accuracy of hts mluutes,
 but they were mt thc prop-ity of the | council hariog been completed after ] regular working hours. They were never paid for nor even authorized. That I august body went so far as to kill TWO
 house resolutions providing an extra clerk
 tp keep up the journal. Your cores pondeni does rot deny ehst council
 members subscribed a small sum for 1 clerk hire. but their clerk was employed very few days Tn the same capacity
 as Stein, e. g simply assisting the chief criek Tn keeping the minutes and reading blI, voiLA TOUT. What he had to do with the journals IS more than I can fathom. Perhaps, Mir. Bracewell can explain.
 In replying to the Democrats sec ond article, a.so Tn the editorial col umns, your correspondent does so sim
 ply because he IS made target for the empty cavIl of persons who either do
 no. thoroughly understand the matter they attempt to treat, or else deliberately
 state what they know to be untrue.
 Speaking oi the "'notorious county division combination, that did all the harm ID the action of either body of the of the legislature, it any harm was doue," the Democrat excItedIy exclaims: "rhe combination yi;h the astnte Mir. r,rppel at tS head. virtually controlled the leg- islation oi the house. Very few. fl any bills passed without its approval" Itis ! true that combination was formed in